Category: Growing organic

low tech shortcuts

There is something about us amateurs that either through haste, ignorance or a desire to perfect, we usually take too long to complete tasks.  An example of haste is not setting up carefully before painting and then afterwards spending extra time removing the splash paint from borders or wooden floors or carpet.  Our desire to perfect often compels us to give extra effort  to behind the scene details which the pro bypasses. Not that the pros get it right all the time - when I purchased the Read more [...]

garlic

As the heat subsides it will soon be time to plant garlic again.  Last year, influenced by several fall articles, I bought four varieties of garlic and planted them in October.  They were: 1) organic California Early White - softneck ($4.99 lb); 2) Elephant garlic - very mild like a leek ($4.99 lb);  3) organic Music Garlic - hardneck  ($12,99 lb.) - the only reason I bought this more expensive variety is because my family is into music; 4) organic Dujansky  - hardneck ($9.99 lb). I know Read more [...]

cantaloupe

During the past week the cantaloupe have shown they are ready for picking.  Quite suddenly their color changes from green to yellow, their stem withers and they exude a strong musk aroma. I planted the seeds directly into a raised bed (8ft x 4ft) on Sunday 6/26.  I had purchased a packet of Burpee's Ambrosia Hybrid which cost $1.89 (before taxes) and I was disappointed there were only 12 seeds in the packet.  I formed two hills in the bed and placed 6 seed in each hill.  Previously I had Read more [...]

organic grown – what does it mean?

For me to say I grow organic requires me, at a minimum, to understand what this means.  The simple definition from the EPA website is "Organically grown" food is food grown and processed using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. But what about the use of horse manure in my compost, or my chicken patrolling the growing area, or preservative treated posts to anchor the cables for muscadine, tomato cages, berry plants? I am not an attorney or expert in this area and the following are my Read more [...]

recycling, scuppernong and the first crow

Recycling I recycle whenever possible.  Two favorites are newspapers and woodchips.  I was able to twice load my pickup with pine tree woodchips and these, together with bundles of accumulated newspapers, gave me the incentive to weed the overgrown walkways in my vegetable garden. I first remove the weeds, then lay down the newspapers (typically open the newspaper at the middle and ensure plenty of overlap to block the sunlight), and then cover with a thick layer of woodchips.   In addition Read more [...]

growing activities 082411

Just returned from a 7 day vacation on the west coast. My neighbor's daughter cared for the two flocks in my absence - released at 7.30am each morning from the coop and re-cooped at 5pm each evening with plenty of food and water. All 14 were in great spirits when I greeted them this morning and enthusiastically beaked down their yogurt probiotics. My rain gauge said 0.5" of rain during the past 7 days, so nothing had died off and I gave a good watering (500 gals) to the vegs, berries and fruit tree Read more [...]

San Francisco – from food market to food truck

Saturday, August 20, was a good day to visit San Francisco foodwise – first a visit to the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market and then the 3rd annual La Cocina Food Festival in the Mission District. The Ferry Plaza market is considered one of the top farmers’ markets in the country.   The market is organized by CUESA (the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture) which envisions a food system that is environmentally sound; socially just; humane; and, economically viable. Large Read more [...]

Salinas, CA

On the way from Monterey to San Francisco we paused in the Salinas Valley. If anything can trump Carmel Valley it is this valley, known as “the salad bowl of the United States”. Salinas was the hometown of John Steinbeck and the national John Steinbeck museum brings to life his books on the region. I chuckled on his comments when he revisited Carmel later in life: “And Carmel, begun by starveling writers and unwanted painters, is now a community of the well-to-do and the retired. If Carmel’s Read more [...]

Monterey and Carmel, CA

It seems to me that the areas north and south of San Francisco are ideally located for organic growing – excellent growing conditions and the wealth of San Francisco provides great consumer demand for the more expensive organic produce.   My son lives and works in the San Francisco area and on previous trips we visited the redwood forests and organic growing areas of Marin county to the north of San Francisco.  This time we headed for Monterey with its striking, natural and unspoiled shoreline. The Read more [...]